Harry Potter: Pokémon Master
by ImaginaryLondoner
Summary: Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts to become a Pokémon Master, but Team Rocket wants to use dark magic to steal Dumbledore's legendary Pokémon!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Dreams**

Harry's aunt and uncle had always mocked his dream of being a Pokémon Master. They told him that Pokémon were not real, that he was living in a fantasy world. Yet who could blame poor Harry for retreating into his imagination? His parents were dead, his cousin was a bully, and his cruel aunt and uncle never let him buy Pokémon trading cards. He didn't have any friends at school, because all his classmates wanted to do was play the Pokémon card game. He liked to watch their games, but he was never allowed to join in.

Once Harry met a girl on the playground who liked to pretend she was Squirtle, and he played with her for a while. He would pretend that he was Clefairy and they would have imaginary Pokémon battles. Their game ended when Harry realized this girl actually believed that she was Squirtle. She was taken away to a mental institution and Harry never saw her again.

Harry did have Pokémon Blue Version, and his party was made up entirely of level-100 Clefairy. He had caught almost all of the Pokémon, but could not manage to get the ones that were only available in Red Version. Dudley had Red Version and Yellow Version, but he refused to trade any of his Pokémon, so Harry would never be able to catch them all. Harry was not even allowed to beat Dudley in Pokémon battles, his cousin was such a sore loser than Harry had to let him win every time.

So Harry spent most his time alone in the cupboard under the stairs, catching more Clefairy and training them all to be level 100. He feared that he would live like that forever, never experiencing the thrill of victory or the warmth of true friendship. However, on his eleventh birthday, Harry received a letter that would change his life forever. He had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Pokémon Training.

When he realized what that letter meant, he peed his pants. Pokémon were real, his aunt and uncle had been wrong. He would be able to train real Pokémon and make real friends. Apparently he was also a wizard and he would be able to escape from his aunt and uncle's house. The most important thing was that he would have his very own Clefairy, and he would nickname it Sparkles.

* * *

James had always wanted to be a wizard. He had been born into a rich family, so he had grown up believing he could have anything he wanted. The only thing he lacked was a pair of loving parents. His mother and father never cared for him, never bothered to teach him the difference between fantasy and reality or right and wrong.

When he was old enough to think for himself, he ran away from home in hopes of going on a magical journey. Instead, he got involved with the criminal organization known as Team Rocket. He became an expert at stealing, lying, and cross-dressing. His criminal adventures helped him find himself, he realized that he had a special place in the universe. The world was full of heroes and sidekicks and tertiary characters, but his purpose in life was to be a villain. He decided that he did not simply want to be a wizard, but the greatest dark wizard in the world.

For the first time in his life, James had a destiny. He was no longer that spoiled and lonely child that had run away from his poor excuse for a family. He had a real family in Team Rocket. His partners Jessie and Meowth were like siblings to him, and his boss was like a father. Actually, he had a crush on Jessie so it wouldn't be right to say she was like a sister, and Meowth was a talking cat so he was more like an intelligent pet than a brother, and his boss didn't seem to like him much so he wasn't a very good father, but they were still a better family than he had back at home.

Jessie and Meowth were misfits, just like James. Jessie's obnoxious red hair made her an outcast. Though Meowth was one of the only Pokémon who was smart enough to actually speak instead of just repeating his own name, his speech impediment made him a laughing stock and prevented his genius from being recognized. Because he spent most of his childhood alone, James was extremely socially awkward. Most people in Team Rocket thought he was weird, and the fact that he would sometimes wear women's underwear under his clothes did not improve their opinion of him.

But it didn't matter what anyone else thought, because James had Jessie and Meowth. They went on missions together and got blown up together and got yelled at by their boss together. No one respected them as they were, but they could not be discouraged. They knew that one day they would be honored as the greatest villains of all time. All they needed was a mission that would allow them to prove themselves.

One day, James's boss gave him a very difficult assignment. He didn't actually think that James and his two friends could pull it off, he was sending them on the mission to get rid of them. However, when James learned where he was to be sent, he was ecstatic. His job was to infiltrate Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Pokémon Training. He would finally get to be a wizard.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Reality**

Harry sat on the Hogwarts express, crying. When he got his letter, he had been the happiest boy in the world. He was eager to begin his Pokémon adventure and make a ton of new friends. Now he sat alone in his compartment, dreading the year before him.

A few days before, a large hairy man named Hagrid had taken him to Diagon Alley, where he bought all of his school supplies and learned about the Pokémon/Wizarding world. Hagrid had informed Harry that he was actually a celebrity, because he had unknowingly defeated a dark wizard when he was a baby. His parents, who were tragically murdered by that dark wizard, had been great Pokémon trainers and left him a lot of money. Harry's first thought was that he could buy all the Pokémon cards in the world with this new money, so he could finally play with the other kids at school. Ten he remembered that he was a real Pokémon trainer. His former classmates could keep their stupid card game, the Pokémon he collected would be the real thing.

He got a wand from Mr. Ollivander, who reminded him of the guy in the movie _Alien_ who had the alien burst out of his chest. Harry's wand was made of wood from a holly tree and had a phoenix feather core, which apparently meant he was special. The wand had chosen him because he had a destiny.

After getting his books and cauldron, he was fitted for his robes. While the shopkeeper measured him, he met a bratty blond boy who reminded him of Joffrey on _Game of Thrones_. The kid introduced himself as Draco Malfoy and claimed to come from a famous family of Slytherins who trained bug-type Pokemon. He seemed very proud of his Caterpie, he bragged that it was already at level six and knew how to use string shot. Harry pretended to be impressed, but secretly hoped that he would not get stuck with such a lame starter Pokémon.

His final task at Diagon Alley was to choose his companion. He went to Professor Oak's laboratory to obtain his first Pokémon. He prayed that he would be able to get his favorite Pokémon, he had his heart set on training a Clefairy. However, when he arrived at the lab, he learned that he had to select a Pokéball without knowing what Pokémon was inside. Sweat dripped from his brow as he searched through the identical balls, trying to determine which one contained a Clefairy.

Harry was overwhelmed, he was terrified that he would end up with a stupid Caterpie. Professor Oak said that his Pokémon would call to him, that he should look within himself in order to make the right choice. The Pokémon would choose the trainer, just as the wand chooses the wizard, Oak insisted. He thought that was dumb, all the balls were the same and there was no way to tell which one had a Clefairy. He only had a 1/150 chance of getting what he wanted.

Harry sighed and picked up the ball that was closest to him. That one seemed just as good as any other. When clicked it open, the light blinded him. A moment later he heard his new friend speak for the first time.

"Ghastly!" the creature exclaimed, grinning at its new trainer.

As he gazed at his ghost-type Pokémon, tears of bitter disappointment formed in Harry's eyes. Ghosts scared him. This was worse than getting a Caterpie.

* * *

James sat in a compartment with Jessie and Meowth. They used magic to make themselves look like they were eleven years old, so they blended in flawlessly. James had his Koffing with him, and Jessie had her Ekans. Meowth was not allowed to enroll in the school, since talking Pokémon did not have the same rights as humans, so he pretended to be James's Pokémon. James got special permission to let Meowth follow him around rather than stay in a Pokéball, as that would have been beneath his dignity. Jessie and Meowth were not absolutely thrilled with the idea of spending an indefinite amount of time in a school for children, but James could not have been more excited.

James's 14 inch wand was made of hazel with a unicorn hair core. Jessie and Meowth both laughed at James for getting a unicorn wand, as theirs had dragon heartstring cores. Apparently unicorn hairs were not as inclined towards dark magic. That worried James, since he aspired to be a dark wizard, but he was still very happy with his wand's impressive length. As long as he got sorted into Slytherin, he would be fine. It would be beyond embarrassing if he was put in Gryffindor, or worse, Hufflepuff.

James was more nervous about the sorting than he was about the actual mission. They had to steal the headmaster's legendary Pokémon, and that did not sound too difficult. They had never successfully stolen a Pokémon before, but this time they had a lot of time to prepare. Meowth wanted to make a plan so they could get it done as quickly as possible, but James intended to draw this out as long as possible. Meowth spent the train ride coming up with ideas, while James stared out the window, daydreaming about his future as a dark wizard. Meowth talked about releasing a giant snake, rigging an elaborate tournament, or creating a house-elf rebellion as a distraction while they snuck into the headmaster's office. Jessie told him that these ideas were all stupid. They didn't even know if the coveted Pokémon was in Dumbledore's office.

"What if Jessie seduced the headmaster?" Meowth suggested.

That brought James back to reality. He did not like the idea of his beloved Jessie seducing anyone. "No, Dumbledore is gay. Have you seen how he dresses?"

"I think you're right," Meowth agreed. "Maybe you should seduce him." Meowth refused to believe that James was straight, in spite of his obvious crush on Jessie.

James whined. He didn't want to do anything bad, unless it made him a dark wizard. He had done a lot of online research on the subject. He planned to kill a few people in order to make horcruxes. Apparently the process of making a horcrux was a big secret in the wizarding world, but James googled it and got all the information he needed.

"I will use my magic powers to steal the legendary Pokémon and take over Hogwarts," James thought out loud.

It was then that a boy with a Pikachu on his shoulder walked by their compartment. Jessie and James stared at it in awe. Meowth climbed on Jessie's hair so he could get a better view of the yellow mouse. Something drew them all to that Pokémon, as if they could sense its great power.

James knew that he had to have it. Only then could he be the most powerful wizard.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Friendship**

Harry had not let his Ghastly out of its Pokéball since he had gotten it. He didn't like anything about it. He couldn't even give it a nickname because he couldn't tell if Ghastly was a boy or girl, and Harry wasn't creative enough to come up with any good gender neutral nicknames.

As he sat there, alone and sniffling, he heard a knock on his compartment door. It was a boy with the Pikachu on his shoulder and a stupid baseball cap on his head.

"Hi! I'm Ash Ketchum and I'm going to be a Pokémon master! Can I sit here with you?" the boy said.

Harry nodding, wiping away his tears. "I'm Harry Potter," he introduced himself.

"Wow! You're famous!" Ash gaped with star-struck excitement. Even his Pikachu looked surprised.

Harry shrugged. He didn't want to be treated like a celebrity, he just wanted a friend. There was an awkward silence. Harry didn't care to talk to this annoying boy, he wished that he could be left alone in his misery.

Unfortunately, Harry's life only got worse when the evil blond kid from Diagon Alley entered his compartment uninvited. Draco and Ash were instantly attracted to one another. Draco showed off his Caterpie, which became friends with Pikachu. Harry rolled his eyes as the two boys bragged about their lame Pokémon. If he had a Clefairy, he would have challenged them to a battle then and there, to prove that Clefairy was the best Pokémon in the world.

"What kind of Pokémon did you get?" Ash asked Harry.

"I don't want to talk about it," Harry said, turning to look out the window.

"Is it something stupid, like a Jigglypuff?" Draco asked.

Harry wished that he had a Jigglypuff. He thought that Jigglypuff was highly underrated, though still not as good as Clefairy. He was about to tell Draco to leave him alone, when his Ghastly came out of its Pokéball.

Harry was horrified that the awful creature had figured out how to escape from its spherical prison. Ghastly was so excited to be free, it licked its master's face. The sensation was so unpleasant that Harry was paralyzed for a moment. Draco laughed, amused by Harry's inability to control his Pokémon. Then Ghastly licked Draco, which made the boy cry and scream. Harry forced the unruly ghost back in its ball, hoping it would have the sense to stay there for the rest of the train ride.

"My father will hear about this," Draco whined, wiping his face.

Harry didn't care what that little brat said to his daddy. Once he got to school, he would find someone to trade with. He could not go through the agony of training and battling a ghost-type Pokémon. Ghosts were dark and evil, and they frightened him because they reminded him of his dead parents.

As Draco sat there complaining, James peeked into the compartment window. He had decided to stalk Ash Ketchum in order to steal his Pikachu. He didn't have a moment to waste, he had to have that Pokémon! His Koffing was good enough for training battles, but with that electric mouse he would rule the wizarding world in no time.

So James made his first attempt to obtain the Pikachu. He burst into the compartment and snatched the creature from its master's shoulder. Of course, the Pikachu would not let itself be captured so easily. It used thundershock on James, sending painful waves of electricity through his body. His purple hair stood straight up and his entire body was paralyzed. Pikachu jumped out of his hands and took his rightful place on Ash's shoulder.

"Stay away from my Pikachu!" Ash shouted, running out of the compartment. Draco followed after him. Harry remained in his seat, happy that the stranger had gotten rid of those irritating boys. James took the seat across from him. He would have asked for permission, as he did not want to intrude as the evil blond boy had, but he could not move his jaw to speak.

The agony of the electric shocks only made him desire Pikachu even more. Now that he had experienced the Pokémon's incredible power, he could not give up his mission to steal it. After a while the pain subsided, but he still could not move his legs. He would just have to make conversation with the boy wearing glasses until he could get up to return to Jessie and Meowth.

"I'm James. What's your name?" he asked Harry.

Harry didn't want to say his real name. He had made that mistake with the Pikachu trainer. This purple haired guy was much nicer than Ash or Draco, and he didn't want to ruin any chance of friendship by revealing that he was a celebrity.

"Neville Longbottom," he lied, saying the first name that came into his head.

"That can't be your real name," James chuckled.

Harry blushed. It was a pretty silly name, he should have thought of something better. "I'm Harry Potter."

"I read about you on the internet," James said casually. "Can I see your scar?"

Harry sighed and lifted his bangs, revealing his lightning-shaped scar. It reminded James of Pikachu.

"Cool," James said.

"Thanks," Harry smiled, glad that James wasn't making a big deal out of him being famous. He had been made fun of because of his scar, it was nice to meet someone who appreciated it.

"So what house do you want to be in?" James asked.

"Anything but Slytherin," Harry responded. "What do you want to be in?"

_So this is what it was like to talk to another person_, Harry thought to himself. He answered questions and then asked the same question in return. It wasn't as hard as he thought it would be.

"Slytherin," James said. Harry's confidence in his social skills immediately deflated. He felt so awkward.

"There's nothing wrong with Slytherin," Harry said. He had heard that Slytherins were all evil, but maybe that was an unfair stereotype?

"I just hope I'm not in Hufflepuff," James said. "My friends are probably going to be in Slytherin, and I would be lonely if I wasn't with them."

"Well, if we both get put in Hufflepuff, you won't be alone," said Harry.

James smiled at him. Had he finally made a friend? His aunt and uncle would never approve of him associating with someone who had purple hair. That made him feel like a rebel. Maybe he would ask James to help him dye his hair some crazy color, like pink.

Thinking about dying his hair pink reminded him of Clefairy, but he did not let himself fall back into depression. He would still be a great Clefairy trainer, he would just have to work a little harder to achieve his dream. At least now he would not be going on his journey alone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Fiendship**

When they arrived at Hogwarts, Harry could not help but feel giddy. He sensed the collective excitement of his fellow first years as he stepped off the train. He was surrounded by strangers, but they all shared the same dreams. He forgot all of his problems and enjoyed the moment. When the castle first came into view, he could almost hear John William's score playing in the soundtrack of his life.

"Wow," James said, absolutely amazed. He wished that he could have experienced his first sight of Hogwarts with Jessie and Meowth, but he hadn't been able to find them after getting off the train. They probably wouldn't appreciate it like he did anyway. It was good to share the memory of his boat ride to Hogwarts with his new friend Harry.

When they entered the castle, Maggie Smith explained to them how they would be sorted into houses based on whether they were brave, ambitious, intelligent, or kind. The segregation of personalities would ensure that they did not question their values. The school founders apparently had a problem with diversity, and none of the following headmasters had the sense to alter the house system.

The current headmaster Albus Dumbledore did support cooperation between the houses, promoting events like a "Slytherclaw winter dance" or a "Gryffinpuff bake-off," but he enjoyed the different house colors and their cute scarves too much to do away with the system entirely.

As they waited in the hall before the sorting ceremony, Harry spotted Ash and Draco. They had apparently gotten to know each other better on the train ride, because they were holding hands. As if that wasn't enough, their Pokémon were snuggling with each other. If Caterpie had hands he certainly would have been holding hands with Pikachu.

"Why did you want to steal that kid's Pokémon?" Harry asked James, noticing how his new friend was staring at the mouse with lust.

James could not simply reveal his plan to be the world's greatest dark wizard to someone he just met. He would wait until he was officially Harry's best friend before he exchanged secrets with him. Maybe he could even get Harry to join Team Rocket, if they ended up being sorted into Slytherin together.

"Well, I don't really like my Pokémon, so I wanted another one," James lied. He could not have known that Harry felt the same way about his own Pokémon. Harry, who believed that James had the same problem that he had, suddenly felt much closer to him.

Harry looked around at his new classmates, trying to find someone with a Clefairy. He noticed a red headed boy with a Rattata, flirting with a red headed girl with a Goldeen. Harry's greatest fear was of ghosts, and his second greatest fear was of gingers. There was no alternate universe where he could have been best friends with a creepy ginger kid, especially not a ginger who came from a whole family of evil gingers. He hated gingers almost as much as he hated blondes.

While Harry passed judgement on his classmates' hair, James scanned the crowd for his friends. He thought that Jessie would stand out, due to her hair being so huge and bright, but he could not find her. He did notice a girl with frizzy brown hair who was trying to escape from a tan guy who had his eyes closed. This boy was aggressively hitting on the geeky girl, but she was clearly not interested. James wondered how the creep could find the girl worth pursuing, she was not very attractive but then considered that he must have bad vision since he refused to open his eyes.

Luckily, they were called into the great hall before any of the couples could take their feelings further. The frizzy haired girl, Hermione Granger, was the first to be sorted. She was put in Gryffindor. Harry liked the Gryffindor colors, so he hoped he could be sorted into that house.

Next, Jessie was called up. James tried to wave to her, but she didn't see him. Harry was very impressed by her hair. He wished that his hair could be just like hers. He would need to ask her about her hair later, so they could become friends and he could steal her hairstyle. She was sorted into Slytherin.

Draco followed. He was immediately put into Slytherin. Then it was his boyfriend's turn. The hat paused for a moment after being placed on Ash's head, unsure of where to place the boy.

"You are a loudmouth, which makes me want to put you in Gryffindor," the hat speculated. "Yet, you want to be the very best? Like no one ever was?"

The hat seemed impressed by the boy's ambition, and Ash clearly wanted to be with Draco. They stared into each other's eyes as they waited for the hat's decision.

"Slytherin!" the hat declared. Ash grinned and ran to join his blondie bear.

After that, the two ginger kids, Ron and Misty, were both sorted into Gryffindor. Brock, the creepy tan guy, was put in Hufflepuff. He cried, disappointed that he wasn't in the same house as Hermione.

Then it was Harry's turn. He stepped up and put the hat on, so nervous he almost peed his pants. He wanted to be in the same house as his new friend, but he didn't want to be stuck with Draco and Ash. He didn't know what he wanted. All he knew was that he wanted a Clefairy, and a donut. He could really go for a maple donut.

"Gryffindor!" the hat cried. Harry ran to his table, full of joy. He would get to wear the snazzy red and gold scarf.

James was the last to be sorted. He made eye contact with Jessie, who had her fingers crossed. He needed to be in Slytherin, how else could he be a dark wizard? But he also wanted to be with Harry. He was so confused. How could he choose between Slytherin and Gryffindor? Snakes and lions were both so cool.

"Hufflepuff!" the hat declared. James was horrified. Jessie laughed at the situation, but inside she was upset that she was separated from her partner. Harry was sad that James couldn't be in Gryffindor with him, but then again, yellow did seem like a better color for him.

James went to the Hufflepuff table and took a seat beside Brock. Brock mistook James for a girl and tried flirting with him, but James revealed his maleness by shouting that he wanted to be left alone.

The feast began. Harry began chatting with Hermione and Ron, trying to ignore their awful hair. James stared at his plate, too sad to eat anything. Suddenly, he felt something mushy hit him in the back of the head. It was a ball of cheese that Ash had thrown at him from the Slytherin table. Ash laughed, pleased to get revenge for the attempted theft on the train. Draco was inspired by Ash's delinquent behavior, throwing a potato at Harry.

Harry turned around and glared at Draco and Ash. He had intended to ignore those two for the rest of their time at school together, but now he had no choice but to go to war with them. He had to prove to them that courage was better than cunning, that red was prettier than green, and that Clefairy were better than stupid bug and mice Pokémon.


End file.
